† Lest We Forget - 15 February †

Today, 15 February, we salute and honour the following men & woman who sacrificed their lives whilst standing in the defence of what they held dear at the time and against evil and tyranny.

SOUTH AFRICAN BORDER WAR

15 Feb 1970: 66269531PE Corporal Stephanus Abraham Johannes Latsky from 1 Maintenance Unit was killed in a military vehicle accident on the Old Pretoria / Johannesburg Road near Valhalla when his Kombi skidded on the wet road and overturned. He was 19.

15 Feb 1979: 65851354PE Major Frederick Wilhelm Christiaan Brits from 3 Squadron was killed when his Mirage F1CZ Serial No.200, crashed near Cullinan during a training flight. He was 32.

15 Feb 1990: 76463298PS Captain Cecil de Jong from 17 Squadron was killed when his Alouette III, Serial 637 crashed at Murrayhill near Hammanskraal during a confined space landing/take-off. The helicopter engine failed in the deadman's curve with tragic results. He was 29. The Flight Engineer survived the crash. The subsequent Board of Enquiry attributed the cause of the engine failure to poor maintenance on the part of Denel when certain mandatory maintenance checks were found to have been omitted. An individual was subsequently charged with gross dereliction of duty.

15 Feb 1992: Two members from the School of Armour were killed when the military vehicle in which they were traveling as passengers, burst a rear tyre near Verkeerdevlei and overturned. They were:

89542813BG Trooper Grant James Koekemoer. He was 18.

89227912BG Trooper Gert Johannes Grobler. He was 18.

RHODESIAN BUSH WAR

1966 – Cpl Peter Robin EGGLESTON, 3 Cdo, 1st Bn, RLI, drowned whilst swimming in the Zambezi River at Nyamoumba, 12 miles downstream from Chirundu. He went for a swim near 'H' Camp, misjudged the strength of the river and was swept away. He was 31 years old.

1976 – Rct Elson MAGURI (18) and Rct Felix MARISA (21), both of S Scouts, died from multiple injuries in a vehicle accident on the main Kariba road, opposite the entrance to Inkomo Barracks, Op Hurricane. Rct W. Maponga the following day.

1977 – WO2 John JACK, 6th Bn, RR, was killed in a shooting accident.

1977 – Cst Grady NDLOVU, J Tp, SU, BSAP, died in a vehicle accident, at the age of 28.

1977 – Cpl Phanuel NDOKANGA, G/Scts, was killed in a contact in the northeast operational area.

1979 – DSO Robert James "Bob" GASH (29), CID, BSAP, died in a vehicle ambush on the Chesa Road whilst returning to Mt Darwin, Op Hurricane. Bob and a colleague, D Cst Choba, were called out to a possible CT sighting in the Chesa Purchase Area when they were ambushed. Bob was killed instantly, but Choba managed to get clear, running through the bush to seek assistance.

1979 – Cst George Makore NCUBE, CID, BSAP, was killed in an ambush in the Machuchuta TTL, Tuli Circle area, Op Tangent, at the age of 21.